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NOVA 2009-2010 College Catalog

STUDENT DEVELOPMENT SERVICES -- Counseling Services

Counselors, located in the Student Services Center, are professionals who are available to assist you in your educational career and life planning. They can help you to make effective decisions and to deal with problems that you may be facing while in attendance at the College. Interviews with counselors are confidential. Referral information is available for persons requiring professional assistance beyond the scope and training of the counselors.

A counselor can help you explore and develop career goals and plan your education to help meet those goals. If you want to enroll in a degree or certificate curriculum, and if you did not indicate a choice of curriculum on your Application for Admission, it is suggested that you meet with a counselor to select a major. This may mean planning a developmental program to gain the necessary skills in certain areas to meet the entrance requirements for a curriculum. It may mean planning a program to take the right courses for transfer to a four-year college or university when you leave NOVA. It may mean selecting the career/technical program best suited to your abilities. The counseling service on each campus provides a testing program to help you better understand your abilities, interests, skills, and values. Tests and inventories are administered and interpreted at a nominal charge to students.

During your first semester at NOVA, the counselor may refer you to a faculty advisor who will assist you in planning your second semester and the rest of your program.

Counseling services are open to you throughout your enrollment at the College. You are encouraged to continue to visit your counselor for whatever reason you may have. Any change of curriculum must be made through your counselor.

Counselors assist you with such information as financial aid, self-assessment inventories, career opportunities, volunteer service placement, and job counseling. Special group programs are also available in career planning, personal exploration, and other skill-building topics.
The Student Services Center on each campus also has information available about national testing programs, such as the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the College Level Examination Program (CLEP).

For students requiring special services or accommodations, see the “Disabilities Services for Students” section for more information.